New England Patriots links 5/28/21 - ALL the OTA observations, opinions, analysis, right here!

TEAM TALK

• Transactions: Patriots sign TE Troy Fumagalli; release LB LaRoy Reynolds and FB Danny Vitale.
• Paul Perillo offers his OTA Blogservations: Newcomers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne took part in the practice and looked smooth and quick while running their routes. Both saw plenty of reps and had several balls thrown their way, and both looked the part; More.
• Mike Dussault offers his impression of Hunter Henry at yesterday’s OTA. “During Thursday’s OTA practice, Henry demonstrated the kind of athleticism that the Patriots’ have lacked at the position in recent seasons. While just a light workout, Henry showed sure hands and light feet and even took part in the quarterback’s “bucket” drill contest.”
• Mike Dussault relays Bill Belichick speaking to the media and happy to be back on the field, laying the early groundwork for the 2021 Patriots in OTAs.
• Press Conference transcript: Bill Belichick.
• Angelique Fiske highlights Matthew Slater speaking on addiction in the NFL panel: ‘It just takes people who care.’
• Paul Perillo and Mike Dussault share their key takeaways from the first day of media access to New England’s organized team activities. (3.31 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered 5/27: Takeaways from OTAs, Adam Vinatieri retirement. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Doug Kyed shares his Patriots Practice Notes: How Cam Newton, Mac Jones looked in OTAs. There were 25 players absent from practice; Ex-Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown, who was a running backs coach last season, spent more time with wide receivers and punt returners on Thursday. Video clips included.
• Evan Lazar gives us his OTA takeaways: All four QBs roster were present; Cam Newton leads off drills, arm looks strong; Hunter Henry’s route detail stands out; More!
• NBC Sports Boston’s OTA observations: First impressions of Mac Jones, other QBs at Patriots OTAs.
• Ryan Hannable shares his Patriots OTA observations: First impressions of Mac Jones, Cam Newton in Year 2.
• Bob Socci’s Notebook: Thursday was the Cam & Mac show at Patriots’ OTA’s.
• Mike Reiss talks about how Mac Jones has impressed his veteran teammates and coach Bill Belichick early on.
• Phil Perry relays Belichick’s take on Mac Jones as QB competition begins.
• Doug Kyed points out how Mac Jones managed to surprise new teammate Kendrick Bourne in OTAs.
• Mike Luciano (MusketFire) No way Bill Belichick tries two-QB system with Mac Jones and Cam Newton.
• Alex Barth focuses on how the Pats’ pass catchers react to working with Cam Newton and Mac Jones.
• Dakota Randall posts the first video of Mac Jones on the practice field at OTAs.
• Andy Hart talks about life under the Patriots QB microscope and whether Mac Jones can measure up.
• Doug Kyed reports Bill Belichick expects Dont’a Hightower and others missing from Patriots’ OTAs to return.
• Nick O’Malley hears from Ja’Whaun Bentley who says the Patriots can pretty much throw the 2020 season away: “We didn’t have fans. We didn’t have much.” /Fans emptied that trash out a while ago, lol.
• Doug Kyed notes Jalen Mills is happy to be in New England and still in disbelief that Bill Belichick is his head coach.
• Nick O’Malley says DB Jalen Mills still isn’t sure if he’ll be playing safety or corner.
• CBS Boston mentions Jalen Mills switched to No. 2 with the Patriots to honor his late uncle.
• CBS Boston highlights long snapper Joe Cordona on playing for the Patriots: “I never thought I’d be in the NFL.”
• Robert Alvarez (PatsFans) Best of social media: A look inside the first week of Patriots OTA’s.
• Doug Kyed reports the Patriots released LB LaRoy Reynolds, signed in March, after three OTA practices.
• Doug Kyed’s Patriots Mailbag: First impressions of Mac Jones at OTAs. Will Jarrett Stidham be pushed out of a job?
• Ricky Doyle NFL Rumors: Update on Patriots’ possible interest in Julio Jones trade. “It’s unclear how much interest the Patriots have in Jones, one of the best wide receivers in NFL history.”
• CBS Boston passes along a report that a Julio Jones trade could happen in the coming week. /Figures. I’ll be away.
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Why the Patriots could (and should) use Stephon Gilmore as a trade chip for Julio Jones.
• Tom E. Curran explains why Adam Vinatieri making the HOF is so important to Belichick.
• Mike Reiss explains Bill Belichick’s way of humbling rookies with a jersey number, including assigning No. 50 to Mac Jones. (36 second video)
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike D’Abate welcomes Doug (@douggiefootball) to talk the latest from New England. From Adam’s retirement, to Julio rumors and more. (49 min.)
• Patriots Fourth and Two podcast: Russ Goldman, Steve Balestrieri and Derek Havens discuss OTA’s, the Pats’ QBs and Julio Jones rumors. (60 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Albert Breer (SI) GamePlan: How the 2021 offseason may foreshadow the NFL’s future in more ways than one; Plus, OROY favorites, the new cutdown schedule and Catherine Raîche’s promotion.
• Joel Corry (CBS Sports) Agent’s Take: Julio Jones is working toward an extension, so we’re making sense of what it could look like.
• Conor Orr (SI) Let’s spice up the NFL before it develops the issues that now plague other sports leagues. /Nah... I want my football wearing the same ol’ thing I fell in love with.
• NFL Total Access (NFL.com) Mike Giardi: Mac Jones ‘threw the best ball of anybody in camp’ today. (1 min. video)
• Jared Dubin (CBS Sports) Ranking NFL 2021 ‘Triplets,’ Part I: From the worst group (Texans) to No. 17 (Falcons). Patriots 27th with Cam Newton, Damien Harris, Hunter Henry.
• Nick Shook (NFL.com) Next Gen Stats’ top 10 disruptors of 2020. No Pats.
• Cody Benjamin (CBS Sports) Top 25 NFL players under 25. No Pats.
• Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) Can Aaron Rodgers’ rift with Packers be fixed? 4 weeks into standoff, there’s a sliver of hope.
• Around the NFL (NFL.com) NFL suspends retiring OT Jared Veldheer for six games.